Naira Gains 0.21% at I&E as Bitcoin Reaches N18m

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira returned appreciated against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange market on Thursday, January 7.

According to data obtained by Business Post, the domestic currency gained 83 kobo or 0.21 per cent against its American counterpart at the session to sell for N393.67/$1 in contrast to N394.50/$1 it was traded the previous session.

The strengthening of the local currency against the greenback occurred because of the lower pressure on the Nigerian currency following the decline in FX demand.

Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the turnover yesterday was $32.41 million, 38.3 per cent or $20.09 million lower than the preceding day’s $108.40 million.

At another segment of the FX market, the parallel market, the local currency further maintained stability against the American Dollar on Thursday, closing flat at N470/$1. The Naira also traded flat against the Pound Sterling and the Euro at the same market window, closing at N628/£1 and N573/£1 respectively.

Furthermore, the value of the Naira against the Dollar further remained unchanged at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the market, trading at N395/$1.

Likewise, the local currency traded flat against the greenback at the interbank window of the forex market yesterday to settle at N379/$1.

Meanwhile, at the cryptocurrency market, out of the seven digital currencies tracked by Business Post on Quidax, three ended the day in the positive territory, while four settled in the negative territory.

Bitcoin pulled a 3.6 per cent gain to sell at N18,092,730.59, Ripple (XRP) continued to fight back as it gained 21.3 per cent to sell at N149.20 while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) recorded a 1.8 per cent gain to sell for N488.00.

But Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 3.6 per cent to trade at 547,664.72, Dash (DASH) lost 1.4 per cent to sell at N46,315, Litecoin (LTC) slid by 1.5 per cent to finish at N75,000, while Tron (TRX) recorded a 1.6 per cent drop to trade at N14.45 on Thursday.